Lighting fixture



11118111888.v F.'C.W.NKLER my l 2,117,888

LIGHTING- FIXTURE Filed Oct. 9, 1936 @M/,mb

Patented May 17, 1938 PATENT OFFICE 2,117,868 LIGHTING FIXTURE FredericC. Winkler,'Lakewood,

ohio, and Gilbert L. Moyer, South Bend, Ind., assignors to WestinghouseElectric & East Pittsburgh,

Sylvania.

Manufacturing Company, Pa.,

a corporation of Penn- Application October 9, 1936, Serial No. 104,814In Australia June 18, 1936 13 Claims.

Our invention relates, generally, to lighting fixtures, and, moreparticularly, to ornamental globes and globe caps for indoor lightingxtures.

Heretofore, indoor lighting fixtures have been provided with globes, orenclosures for the lamp, having an opening, usually in the bottomposition, to permit access to the lamp Without removing the globe fromits holder. Various kinds of covers or globe caps have been used toclose the globe opening, such, for example, as rigid covers attached bymeans of mechanical fastening devices in the form of screws, clips,etc., and flexible covers which may be temporarily distorted to permittheir attachment or removal from the globe. Covers of these kinds havedisadvantages which are successfully overcome by the present invention.When mechanical devices or elements such as screws, clips, etc., areused tosecure the cover cap in place, they cast 'unsightly shadows,collectl dust and require considerable manual manipulation to secure andremove rthe cover from the globe. In addition, when fragile materialsuch as glass is used for the globe or cover, or both, considerable caremust be used to avoid breakagewhen manipulating the cover. It has alsobeen found that when flexible covers are used, they become badlydiscolored and unsightly, and eventually deteriorate to such an extentthat they either fall out ory become fragile and break when removed fromor inserted into the globe, requiring frequent replacement. It is wellknown that lighting units of this kind must be eiiicient as Well asornamental and must harmonize with the surroundings in which they areplaced. Thus the requirements with respect to the covers is that they beof an ornamental nature, eflicient as regards the transmission of thelight of sturdy construction and easily removable from the globe Withoutdamage to either.

In view of the foregoing, it is the object of our invention, generallystated, to provide a lighting fixture having a globe cover or cap whichshall be of simple and efficient construction, ornamental, economical tomake and which may be readily sccured to and detached from the globeWithout damage to either.

A more specific object of our invention is to provide a cover o r capfor a globe opening which may be removed from or secured to the globewith a minimum amount of effort and manipulation and which is positivelysecured in position.

Another object of our invention is to provide for removably securing acap or closure directly to a globe of fragile material by mechanicalmeans in such manner as not to damage the globe.

A further object of our invention is to provide for removably securing acover or cap to a globe by means of a mechanical device which shallfunction as an ornamental agency for the cap.

A still further object of our invention is to provide a glass cover orcap for glass or fragile globes of such nature as to produce anornamental effect when the globe is illuminated and which has the samegeneral appearance as the globe and maintains its desired contour whenit is not illuminated.

Another object of our invention is to provide a glass globe cap which ispositively secured in position and readily removable by a simplemanipulation of its parts.

In carrying out our invention in what appears to be the preferredmanner, we provide a cap or cover of the desired material, shape andcoloration which may be placed against the outside of the globe to coverthe opening. The cap is secured to the globe by means of a holderadapted l to be inserted into the globe through the opening to becovered and having lugs or projections Which rest upon the insideportion of the glob-e surrounding the opening. The cap of glass or othermaterial is secured to the holder in such manner that they are normallyurged together to clamp the globe therebetween and so that they may bereadily separated a sufficient amount to permit the holder to be readilyremoved from the globe.

For a more comprehensive understanding of the nature and objects of theinvention, reference may now be had to the drawing in which:

Figure l is an elevational View partly in section of a lighting xtureembodying the principal features of the invention,

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the supporting holder or 40 spider shown inFig. 1,

Fig. 3 is an elevational view in section of the spider of Fig. 2,

Fig, 4 is a detailed elevational view section of the globe cap shown inFig. 1,

Fig. 5 is a similar View of a modification of the globe cap of Fig. 4,and

Fig. 6 is a View showing another modification Aof the globe cap orcover.

Referring now to Fig. 1 of the drawing, there is 50 shown a lightingunit comprising a globe Ill having a bottom opening Il to permit accessto the lamp I2 which may be supported by a suitable socket (not shown)comprising a part oi. the globe support or canopy I3. The bottom opening55 partly in I I is of such shape and size as to permit of inserting andremoving the lamp without removing the globe.

In order to close the opening Il, there is provided a cover I4 of anysuitable material such, for example, as glass of the same character asthat of the globe and of such shape as to give the globe the desiredoutward appearance.

In this embodiment of the invention, the coverV I4 is secured to theglobe in such manner that it may be readily removed without injury tothe globe or the cover and in such a way that it is positively securedby invisible means which may also function to produce an ornamentaleffect when the globe is illuminated.

'Ihe fastening means for the cover comprises, generally, a holder orspider I5 as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 and an operating device IB thedetails of which are shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

The holder I5 may be in the form of an ornamental spider as shown or anyother desired shape or design may be used. It is provided with aplurality of spaced lugs or tongues I? which are adapted to rest uponthe inside edge of the opening as shown in Fig. 1. About the onlyrequirements of the holder are that it be constructed so that it may beinserted and removed through the opening by tipping it from its normalposition to permit the lugs to pass through the opening.

The operating device I6 is so constructed that it normally functions tobias the holder I5 and cover I4 together in order to firmly andpositively secure the cover in place and so that the cover and holdermay be readily separated the required distance to permit suicienttipping of the holder to enable its removal from the globe.

In this instance, the operating device I6 comprises a plunger I3, whichmay be secured to the holder by means of threads I9 and nut 2| as -inFig. 4 or by threads alone as in Fig. 5, a knob 22 and spring 23. Theplunger I8 is provided with a shoulder or collar 24 and the knob with aninternal shoulder 25. The spring 23 is placed upon the plunger betweenthe shoulders 24 and 25 in such manner that it is compressed a suicientamount to force the cover into engagement with the rim of the opening Itis now apparent that the cover and holder, which may be termed a globecap, may be removed as a unit by grasping the knob and pressing theplunger which compresses the spring 23 and moves the cover and holderapart for a distance suilicient to permit the cap to be tipped in suchmanner that the holder may be removed through the opening.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 3 the lugs I'I on the holder and the contour ofthe holder may be so formed that the cover I4 is maintained in a deniteposition and that the pressure exerted upon the rim of the opening. bythe cover is not excessive. In this instance the lugs I'l have twooffset portions 26 and 2'I which cooperate with the. rim of the openingas shown in Fig. 1 to maintain .the cover I4 in a definite position.

The holder I 5 may be comprised of flexible and resilient material inorder that the force exerted by the spring 23 may draw it downwardlyinto contact or in close proximity to the inside of the cover or it maybe curved to substantially the same degree as the cover as shown in Fig.3 with a slight difference in curvature to cause sufcient springing sothat the lugs I'I will exert adequate pressure to hold the cover I4securely in position.

It will be readily understood that the holder I5 may be formed in manydifferent designs in order that the shadow cast thereby upon the coverwhen the globe is illuminated will produce the desired kind ofdecoration. The design decoration being produced by the holder makes itpossibleV to design a lighting unit Which has a smooth and pleasingappearance and one in which the useful light is not unduly obstructedeither by the supporting means for the globe cover or by the coverfitself.

VReferring to Fig. 6 there is shown another form of globe cap. whereinprovision is made for holding the cover 2,8 and holder 29 together andfor separating them in a different manner.

. In this embodiment of the invention, the holder 29 is providedwith athreaded boss 30 through which the screw 3| extends. rIhe screw 3| isprovided with a threaded portion 32 adjacent the head 33 which may bescrewed into the threaded boss 3G when .the screw is rotated.

The screw 3| may be rotated and otherwise manipulated by the ornament orhandle 34 which is fixed to the end thereof in any suitable manner.

The length of the threaded portion 32 of the screw 3| is such that whenthe parts are in the position Vshown the threads are disengaged from theboss 3G. In or-der to bias the holder 2.8 and cover 28 together to clampthe edges of the globe opening, a spring 35 is placed around the screwbetween the head 33 and boss 30.

The holder 29 and cover 28 may be separated a sufcient distance topermit removal of the holder from the globe by pulling downwardly on thehandle 34 to compress the spring 35 and at the same time Vrotating thehandle to cause the fj tionary through .the engagement of the lugs ortongues 36 with the edges of the globe opening.

In view of the foregoing, it is apparent that the lighting unit as aWhole or the globe cap or cover, which may be applied to existing globesusing exible caps, have all of the advantages of similar devices now inuse but have none of 'their disadvantages. construction,V eflicient and.are not subject to breakage under ordinary usage or deterioration. Itmay be stated, in conclusion, that, while the illustrate-d exampleconstitutes a practical and perhaps preferred embodiment of ourinvention, we do not wish to limit ourselves strictly to .the exactdetails herein illustrated, since modifications of the same may be madewithout departing from the spirit of the invention, as dened in theappended claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. A lighting unit comprising a light transmitting globe having anopening therein, a rigid cover for said opening, and means including aspringbiased spider member attached to the cover disposed within theglobe for releasably securing the cover to the outside of the globe.

2. A lighting unit comprising a light transmitting globe having anopening therein, a rigid cover for said opening, and amanually-releasable spring-actuated spider element attached to the coverfor resiliently and detachably securing the cover to the globe. 1

3. A lighting unit comprising a light transmitting globe having anopening therein, a glass cover for said opening, and manually-operablemeans including a separate spider member attached to the cover and abiasing spring there- They are of simple and rugged for for detachablysecuring the cover to the globe, said means being .disposed toconstantly urge the Cover against the outside of the globe.

4. A lighting unit comprising a globe having an opening therein disposedbelow the light surface, a glass cover for the opening, andspringactuated means attached to the cover for detachably securing thecover to the globe over said opening, said means being disposed tofunction as an ornamental agency when the globe is illuminated and to beinvisible at other times.

5. A lighting unit comprising a globe having an opening therein disposedbelow the light source, a glass cover for the opening, and a separatespider element disposed within the globe and resiliently secured to thecover for detachably securing the cover to the globe, said means beingso constituted as to cast an ornamental shadow upon the cover when theglobe is illuminated.

6. A lighting unit comprising a light transmitting globe having a bottomopening therein, a cover for said opening, a holder adapted to be placedwithin the globe through said opening to support the cover, and meansincluding a stem extendingjthrough the cover and a spring element forresiliently biasing the holder and cover together to clamp the edges ofthe globe opening, said stern being disposed when rotated to move andretain the holder and cover in spaced relation.

'2. In combination a lighting xture globe having an opening therein, acover plate for the globe opening, a holder adapted to be placed withinthe globe to support the cover plate, means including a stem extendingthrough the cover plate and a spring element associated therewith forresiliently biasing the cover plate and holder together, said stem beingoperable from Without the globe to effect a separation of the coverplate and holder a suflicient amount to permit the holder to be insertedinto the globe through the opening and removed therefrom.

8. A lighting unit comprising a globe having an opening in the bottomthereof, a rigid cover for the opening, a supporting spider adapted tobe placed within the globe to support the cover, 4a stem secured to thespider and extending through the cover, a knob for the cover having alongitudinal opening through which extends the stem and a compressionspring interposed be- .o tween the knob and stem whereby the spider andcover are constantly urged together to clamp the edges of the globearound the opening.

v9. A lighting unit comprising a globe having an opening in the bottomthereof, a rigid cover for the opening, a supporting spider adapted tobe placed within the globe to support the cover, and means comprising aknob, a plunger attached to the spider and extending through the coverand knob and a compression spring for detachably securing the coverV tothe globe, said Ameans boing operable from without the globe to separatethe spider and cover a suflicient distance to permit its removal fromthe globe as a unit.

l0. A globe cap for covering a globe opening comprising a rigid glasscover member adapted to be supported in contact with the outside of theglobe, a holder adapted to be placed within the globe to support thecover member, a stem for the holder extending through the cover member,and a spring on the stem for resiliently securing the holder and covertogether, said stem being operable to separate the holder and cover.

11. A detachable cap for a globe opening comprising a rigid glass covermember adapted to be supported in contact with the outside of the globe,a holder adapted to be placed within the globe, a plunger attached tothe holder and extending through an opening in the cover member and aspring interposed between the cover member and the exposed end of theplunger for urging the cover member and holder together' to clamp theglobe around the opening.

l2. A detachable cap for a globe opening comprising a rigid glass covermember adapted to be supported in contact with the outside of the globe,a spider adapted to be placed within the globe, and means comprising astem and a spring associated therewith for resiliently biasing the coverand spider together, said stem being operable from outside the globe toeffect a separation of the cover and spider to permit the insertion andremoval of the spider from the globe.

13. A lighting unit comprising a globe having a bottom opening, a coverfor the opening, a separate spider member adapted to be placed withinthe globe through said bottom opening to support the cover, and meansincluding a` stem interposed between the spider member and cover and aspring member carried by the stem for biasing the spider member andcover together in clamping relation with the edge of the globe opening.

FREDERIC C. WINKLER. GILBERT L. MOYER.

